Mrs. Mallard's Dynamic Character

Among the several characters in "The Story of an Hour," Mrs. Mallard is the only dynamic, round character: a dynamic character usually undergoes some sort of fundamental change as the result of one or more plot elements, and a round character generally exhibits inconsistencies and problems that affect most of us. Dynamic, round characters are often difficult to summarize easily because they are, like many real people, complicated. Social conventions are the main cause making us repress what we really think and feel. "The Story of An Hour" by Kate Chopin reflects the dramatic development process of Mrs. Mallard's character through the death of her husband; it demonstrates that the true identity cannot be sheltered forever.

Mrs. Mallard is the character we know the most about by far. Of course, that's not saying much. She's the protagonist, the center of attention, and the person around whom all the other characters revolve. At the beginning of the story, when Mr. Mallard dies, the other characters (Richards and Josephine) put aside their personal grief to console Mrs. Mallard. Their first priority is taking care of her – making sure she gets through the hard news without dying herself. Likewise, at the end of the story, the other characters try to take care of her first, rather than concentrating on their own feelings about seeing Mr. Mallard alive and well after all.

Mallard? We know from the beginning that she is "afflicted with a heart trouble" (1). She's unwell, with a genteel condition, which means she can still act like and be treated like a lady. We can tell from the description of her "two white slender hands" (10) that she doesn't work, or engage in manual labor. It seems like all the people in her life are looking out for her and trying to take care of her, at least during the hour in which we get to know